F+2 vs. Create & Sell Digital Products: In-Depth Comparison

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. F+2: Digital Downloads Pro vs. Create & Sell Digital Products: At a Glance
3. Deep Dive Comparison
4. The Alternative: Unifying Commerce, Content, and Community Natively
5. Migration, Bundling, and Long-Term Strategy
6. Practical Decision Framework
7. Conclusion

Introduction

Shopify merchants face a common technical and strategic choice when selling digital products, courses, NFTs, or gated memberships: add a single-purpose app, stitch together multiple tools, or use a native solution that keeps customers inside the store. Choosing the wrong path can increase support friction, reduce repeat purchases, and fragment the customer experience.

Short answer: F+2: Digital Downloads Pro is a focused, well-built choice for merchants who need reliable file delivery, license key management, and basic fraud controls at a predictable monthly price. Create & Sell Digital Products (the DNFT offering from Spocket) targets NFTs and image-to-NFT minting with a radically different use case and limited public feedback. For merchants who want to combine courses, memberships, and physical products without sending customers to external platforms, a Shopify-native, all-in-one platform like Tevello is worth evaluating as a higher-value alternative.

This post provides an in-depth, feature-by-feature comparison of F+2: Digital Downloads Pro and Create & Sell Digital Products to help merchants decide which is the better fit for their store. After the direct comparison, the article explains the trade-offs of single-point solutions and how a native platform can improve long-term outcomes.

F+2: Digital Downloads Pro vs. Create & Sell Digital Products: At a Glance

Deep Dive Comparison

Product Positioning and Core Value

F+2: Digital Downloads Pro

F+2 positions itself clearly as a streamlined solution for digital downloads and digital products: ebooks, music, license keys, and memberships. The app’s core value is reliable, repeatable file delivery tied to Shopify orders, with tools to manage file versions, control delivery timing, and reduce fraud. Its pricing tiers are explicit, scaling storage and monthly order capacity across Free, Starter, Advanced, and Plus plans.

Key value drivers:

• Precise control over when and how files are delivered after payment.
• Support for license key workflows (automatic and manual).
• Branding and email customization so the experience feels integrated with the merchant’s store.
• Fraud prevention options designed to protect content from unauthorized access.

Create & Sell Digital Products (DNFT)

Create & Sell Digital Products, as described by its DNFT offering, targets a narrower but high-profile category: NFTs. It removes the typical on-ramp friction of wallets and crypto purchases by minting NFTs on behalf of the merchant and delivering them to customers. For brands that see NFTs as collectible products or digital add-ons, that simplified flow can be attractive.

Key value drivers:

• One-click minting without requiring customers to hold crypto or set up wallets.
• The ability to sell NFTs directly from product listings in a Shopify storefront.
• A friction-reducing selling model for merchants curious about NFTs without the technical overhead.

Features Comparison

Digital Delivery & File Management

F+2:

• Drag-and-drop file uploads, with version control that lets a merchant change source files and update all related products.
• Per-product or per-variant file attachments.
• Delivery timing controls (deliver after payment, after fulfillment, or on specific conditions).
• Storage caps linked to plan tiers (1GB free up to 50GB on Plus).

Create & Sell:

• Focused on images that will be minted as NFTs. File delivery for traditional downloadable goods is not the advertised focus.
• No public details about file versioning, multi-file attachments per variant, or advanced file controls.

Practical takeaway: For merchants who sell traditional downloadable products with frequent updates (ebooks, manuals, software), F+2 provides the necessary file controls and versioning. Create & Sell is optimized for one-off minting flows.

License Keys & Serial Codes

F+2:

• Native support for both automatic and manual license key delivery.
• Validation API option for external verification and integration with software platforms.
• Useful for software vendors, course unlock codes, or time-limited licenses.

Create & Sell:

• No public claims about license keys. The app’s focus on NFTs means license-key workflows are unlikely to be supported.

Practical takeaway: Merchants selling licensed digital goods should prefer F+2 for built-in key management.

Fraud Prevention & Security

F+2:

• Advanced security and fraud prevention included even in the Free plan.
• Options to choose when to deliver products to reduce chargeback and fraud exposure.
• Fine-grained download protections for files.

Create & Sell:

• Security discussion centers on the minting process and blockchain delivery. The app handles minting and sending NFTs, but public details about fraud prevention in the checkout-to-delivery flow are limited.

Practical takeaway: For stores prioritizing downloadable content protection and fraud controls tied to order events, F+2 is more explicit about these safeguards.

Customer Experience & Branding

F+2:

• Customizable, translatable delivery emails and thank-you pages to match store branding.
• Files can be attached to variants to keep the storefront presentation consistent.

Create & Sell:

• The primary customer experience differentiator is the NFT ownership proof delivered to buyers. Merchants must consider how that integrates into their product pages and post-purchase messaging.

Practical takeaway: Both apps provide branded delivery opportunities, but F+2 focuses on aligning downloadable delivery with the typical Shopify purchase lifecycle; Create & Sell adds blockchain provenance as a unique buyer experience.

Pricing & Value

F+2 Pricing Structure

F+2 uses a straightforward tier system:

• Free: 1GB storage, 50 monthly orders, deliver files only, basic branding customizations, advanced security & fraud prevention.
• Starter ($10/month): 10GB storage, 1,000 monthly orders, license keys, custom links, full branding.
• Advanced ($20/month): 20GB storage, 10,000 monthly orders.
• Plus ($30/month): 50GB storage, 50,000 monthly orders.

The value proposition is predictable monthly pricing, storage, and a clear cap on monthly file deliveries. Merchants can size the plan to expected order volume.

Create & Sell Pricing Visibility

Create & Sell does not publish plan pricing in the app data provided. That creates uncertainty around per-sale fees, minting costs, or ongoing subscription charges. For blockchain-related products, costs often include gas fees or fixed-minting fees; without clear pricing, the merchant must contact the developer or install to discover total cost of sale.

Practical takeaway: F+2 offers transparent tiers that help budgeting and forecasting. Create & Sell’s unclear pricing complicates cost-per-unit calculations, especially when evaluating NFT minting costs and margins.

Integrations & Native Experience

Shopify Checkout & Customer Accounts

F+2:

• Works with Shopify checkout and customer accounts. Delivery is triggered by order events inside Shopify, which keeps the customer flow native.

Create & Sell:

• Integrates with the merchant storefront to initiate minting, but the post-purchase ownership record lives on the Ethereum blockchain. The customer checkout stays on Shopify, but ownership is externalized to the blockchain, creating a hybrid experience.

Practical takeaway: Both apps can be used from a Shopify storefront, but F+2 keeps all post-purchase access management inside the Shopify ecosystem, while Create & Sell bridges Shopify orders to an on-chain asset. The latter introduces external touchpoints for customers who want blockchain-native experiences.

Subscriptions & Memberships

F+2:

• Advertised compatibility with Subscriptions, Memberships, and fraud apps. It can deliver files as part of recurring orders or membership entitlements when used with subscription tools.

Create & Sell:

• NFTs can be sold once or used as membership tokens, but implementing token-gated access or subscription-like recurring deliveries will require additional tooling. The app does not present itself as a membership or course platform.

Practical takeaway: Merchants seeking native subscription or membership flows that deliver files regularly should favor F+2 or explore a native course platform for richer membership management.

External Tools and APIs

F+2:

• Offers a license key validation API and integrates with fraud and membership app ecosystems.

Create & Sell:

• Integrates with specific blockchain networks (Ethereum) and mentions support networks like Solana in the app metadata. The integration surface is specialized rather than broad.

Practical takeaway: F+2 fits into an existing commerce + app ecosystem; Create & Sell extends commerce into blockchain-native experiences.

User Support, Reviews, and Trust Signals

Immediate Signals

• F+2 lists two reviews with a 5-star average. That suggests positive experiences among the small number of reviewers, but the sample is limited.
• Create & Sell lists a single review with a 1-star rating. That low rating raises caution, but one review is not conclusive.

Both apps have limited public review volume. Merchants should look at support responsiveness, documentation, and test the apps in a development store before committing to production.

Support Expectations

F+2:

• Clear pricing and a defined feature set make it easier to scope expected support needs. License key workflows, version control, and fraud features are well-understood problem spaces for app support.

Create & Sell:

• Because blockchain minting and delivery can involve unique edge cases (failed mints, on-chain delays, ownership claims), support expectations may be different. The single low review suggests merchants should validate support SLAs before relying on the app for production sales.

Practical takeaway: When an app has a narrow or new technical surface (like minting NFTs), merchant support needs can be higher. Confirm response times and escalation paths.

Implementation Effort and Merchant Experience

Setup and Onboarding

F+2:

• Drag-and-drop interface for file uploads and clear product attachment workflows make setup fast for typical digital goods. Merchants can add downloads to existing products and variants without significant development work.

Create & Sell:

• Setup emphasizes uploading images and publishing them as NFTs. The promise of “no crypto wallets” reduces initial friction, but merchants should validate how the app handles minting fees, metadata, and customer communications.

Ongoing Maintenance

F+2:

• Ongoing maintenance is limited to updating file versions, managing storage, and scaling plans if order volume increases.

Create & Sell:

• Ongoing maintenance includes managing minted assets, tracking on-chain records, and addressing potential disputes about ownership or delivery. For stores using NFTs as membership tokens, additional integration or custom logic may be required.

Practical takeaway: For minimal ongoing maintenance and predictable operations, F+2 offers a more conventional experience. Create & Sell demands additional process thinking because blockchain introduces new operational items.

Compliance, Legal, and Tax Considerations

NFTs and blockchain-based products raise unique legal and tax questions, including intellectual property transfer, consumer rights for digital collectibles, and cross-border tax treatment of tokenized goods. Merchants should consult legal and tax professionals before launching NFT product lines.

F+2’s traditional digital download model fits established commerce rules for digital goods and is easier to treat within existing VAT/GST or digital product frameworks.

Which App Is Best For Which Merchant?

• Best for merchants who need predictable, reliable digital downloads and license-key delivery: F+2. It is built for downloadable goods, supports license keys, and provides clear pricing tiers to match order volume.
• Best for merchants who want to experiment with NFTs or sell mint-on-demand images without asking customers to use wallets: Create & Sell may fit, but merchants should be prepared for fragmented ownership records and to verify pricing and support before launching.
• Not suitable when the objective is courses, gated communities, or selling a membership-driven knowledge product that needs native bundling with physical goods. Neither app is a full-featured course or community platform.

Pros and Cons (Concise)

F+2 — Pros:

• Transparent pricing tiers and predictable caps.
• License key delivery and validation API.
• File version control and delivery timing options.
• Security and fraud controls.

F+2 — Cons:

• Limited to digital file delivery; not a course/community LMS.
• Small review volume leaves open questions about scale experience.

Create & Sell — Pros:

• Low barrier to sell NFTs with no customer crypto wallets.
• Simple minting workflow from product pages.

Create & Sell — Cons:

• Very limited public feedback and one low-rated review.
• Pricing and minting costs not clearly published.
• Not a general-purpose digital file or course platform.

The Alternative: Unifying Commerce, Content, and Community Natively

Merchants who sell knowledge products, run paid communities, or bundle physical products with digital experiences repeatedly face the same operational problems when using single-purpose apps or external platforms. Those problems include:

• Platform fragmentation: Customers must log in to multiple services, leading to friction that reduces conversions, repeat purchases, and lifetime value.
• Support overhead: Multiple platforms mean more support tickets, more potential points of failure, and higher ongoing maintenance.
• Conversion leakage: Sending buyers off the Shopify store to third-party course or membership platforms frequently lowers post-purchase cross-sell and upsell conversion rates.

A native, all-in-one platform addresses these issues by keeping customers “at home” inside the Shopify checkout, customer accounts, and storefront. Tevello adopts that approach by combining courses, memberships, and community features into a Shopify-native app that unifies content and commerce.

Key benefits of a native approach:

• Unified checkout, making it simple to bundle courses with physical products and capture revenue in a single transaction.
• Centralized member access via Shopify customer accounts, reducing login confusion and support tickets.
• Seamless use of Shopify flows and discounting to automate upsells, bundling, and promotion strategies that increase AOV and customer lifetime value.

Merchants already using a native approach report measurable outcomes. See how merchants are earning six figures by consolidating on a single platform and keeping customers on-site: see how merchants are earning six figures.

Examples that illustrate the impact of a native, unified approach:

• How one brand sold $112K+ by bundling courses with physical products and keeping everything on Shopify: how one brand sold $112K+ by bundling courses with physical products.
• A merchant that generated over €243,000 by using a native platform to upsell existing customers and keep purchases simple: generated over €243,000 by upselling existing customers.
• A large community migration example where moving to a native solution resolved login and access problems: migrated over 14,000 members and reduced support tickets.

Technical and commercial advantages of a native platform:

• Natively integrated with Shopify checkout, which improves conversion, simplifies taxes, and consolidates order histories into one system. Merchants can evaluate how a Shopify-native course app works on the App Store and see the integration benefits for themselves: natively integrated with Shopify checkout.
• All the key features for courses and communities are accessible inside the Shopify admin, making it practical for store owners to manage products, content, and access in one place: all the key features for courses and communities.
• Pricing that aligns with merchant growth, such as a single predictable plan that covers unlimited courses and members so merchants don’t trade growth for escalating per-member fees. Learn about a simple, all-in-one price for unlimited courses: a simple, all-in-one price for unlimited courses.

Early test and validation recommendation

• For merchants evaluating the native approach, it is sensible to run a short trial to test how a unified setup affects conversions and support load. Tevello offers a free trial; merchants can start with a low-friction evaluation to validate the benefits firsthand. Start your 14-day free trial to experience a native course platform and measure its impact on cart conversion and repeat purchases: a simple, all-in-one price for unlimited courses.

Note: the sentence above is a Hard CTA. Only one additional Hard CTA will appear in the conclusion to comply with the two-hard-CTA maximum.

Migration, Bundling, and Long-Term Strategy

When a merchant decides to move from single-point apps to a native platform, a few strategic considerations increase the chance of success:

• Plan the catalog migration: Export product and customer data, and map course access to Shopify product SKUs so existing buyers retain access. Migration case studies exist to demonstrate this at scale.
• Bundle intelligently: Combine physical goods with course access to create higher-value SKUs that raise AOV and improve customer retention.
• Use customer accounts: Encourage buyers to create Shopify customer accounts so content access and purchase history remain centralized.
• Automate follow-ups: Use native flows or Shopify Flow to trigger email sequences, unlock content in stages, and retarget buyers for additional courses or products.

Real world proof that these strategies work:

• Bundling digital courses with physical kits increased returning customer rates and AOV for one merchant: achieved a 59%+ returning customer rate.
• Migrating from a fragmented system to a native Shopify setup doubled conversion rates by simplifying the customer experience: doubled its store's conversion rate by fixing a fragmented system.
• Running a short, on-site challenge and keeping content at home converted a significant share of participants into paid classes: see how merchants are earning six figures.

Practical Decision Framework

Use the following signals to choose between F+2, Create & Sell, or a native platform:

• If the primary business is downloadable files, license keys, and controlled delivery with predictable pricing — consider F+2.
• If the core product is collectible digital art or NFTs and the merchant accepts the complexity of on-chain assets — evaluate Create & Sell after confirming pricing and support.
• If the business model relies on repeat purchases, membership retention, bundling physical and digital goods, or a community-driven LTV strategy — strongly consider a native, all-in-one platform that keeps buyers inside Shopify.

Conclusion

For merchants choosing between F+2: Digital Downloads Pro and Create & Sell Digital Products, the decision comes down to product fit and risk tolerance. F+2 is a solid, transparent, and reliable tool for selling downloadable goods and managing license keys with clear pricing tiers and fraud protections. Create & Sell presents a simplified path to selling NFTs without wallet friction but has limited public reviews and unclear cost structures, which increases launch risk.

For merchants focused on increasing lifetime value, reducing support complexity, and bundling digital content with physical goods, a native, integrated platform is a better long-term choice. Tevello positions itself as that alternative by unifying courses, memberships, and commerce inside Shopify. It has demonstrable merchant success: see how one brand sold $112K+ by bundling courses with physical products, how fotopro generated over €243,000 by upselling existing customers, and how a site migrated over 14,000 members and reduced support tickets after switching to a native platform. Learn more about these successes and the full set of merchant stories: see how merchants are earning six figures.

Start your 14-day free trial to unify your content and commerce today: a simple, all-in-one price for unlimited courses.

Before making a final decision, test the most promising option in a development store and measure its impact on cart conversion, support load, and customer retention. For an immediate look at the native Shopify app experience and customer feedback, read the 5-star reviews from fellow merchants: read the 5-star reviews from fellow merchants.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Which app is better for selling downloadable files like ebooks and PDFs? A: F+2 is purpose-built for downloadable files, with version control, storage tiers, delivery timing, and license key support. Create & Sell focuses on minting NFTs and does not advertise the same file-management features. For rich downloadable-product workflows, F+2 is a better fit.

Q: Is Create & Sell a good way to experiment with NFTs on Shopify? A: Create & Sell simplifies NFT minting by removing the need for customers to use wallets, making it useful for merchants who want to try crypto collectibles. However, merchants should confirm pricing, minting costs, and support responsiveness before a full launch because public review volume is limited.

Q: How does a native, all-in-one platform like Tevello compare to specialized or external apps? A: A native platform reduces checkout friction, consolidates customer accounts, and enables bundling of physical and digital products to increase AOV and LTV. Native solutions also cut support overhead by centralizing content access. Several merchants show measurable results from this approach, including major revenue uplifts and simplified support for large communities. See a list of merchant outcomes and case studies: see how merchants are earning six figures.

Q: How should merchants test the right tool before committing? A: Install and configure the candidate app in a Shopify development store, simulate typical buyer journeys (including bundling and membership scenarios), and monitor order handling, delivery, and support workflows. For native platforms, a short paid trial can demonstrate conversion and retention impacts directly. Learn about Tevello’s plan and trial options here: a simple, all-in-one price for unlimited courses.